


Set My Heart Aglow

by NoSleepUntilVacation



Series: Papyton Week 2020 [3]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, M/M, Purring skeletons, Romantic Fluff, Sleepy Cuddles, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, fluffy fluff, the fluffiest fluff that ever fluffed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:07:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23090731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoSleepUntilVacation/pseuds/NoSleepUntilVacation
Summary: Late at night, by candlelight, two monsters in love enjoy some peace and quiet.Written for day three of Papyton Week, using the prompt "light".
Relationships: Mettaton/Papyrus (Undertale)
Series: Papyton Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1655671
Comments: 5
Kudos: 32
Collections: Papyton Fics





	Set My Heart Aglow

In a decorated, cozy bedroom, electric candles glowed with a soft light from the bedside tables, casting a warm atmosphere through the entire room. This gentle glow, combined with the soft mattress and warm blankets, easily made this bedroom feel like a haven for its two inhabitants. With the day's work behind them, the next day's work still hours away, and this entire evening all to themselves, neither of them could think of a better way to close the day than with some quiet time together.

Earlier in the day, it had been a total rush. Tools clanking, engines revving, customers asking about their cars; instruments playing, computer keys clacking, interviewers asking about the upcoming projects. And yet now, with the rushing in the past, things had since fallen silent, aside from occasional movement and words from the two in the room.

Almost anyone else would have been quite surprised to see a situation like this. These two were definitely among the loudest monsters around, from their personalities and hobbies to their tones of voice and even their choices in fashion; of all the monsters to ever want to slow down and enjoy quiet moments together, no one could expect either of these two specific monsters, let alone both of them, to jump at the opportunity.

And yet, at the same time, these two had also become notorious for defying expectations in many other aspects of life, so why not one more?

Thus, they lay there in that quiet atmosphere as their thoughts floated through what could be called daydreams (in spite of the time and location at the moment). For one of them, thoughts soon became ideas - the kind he just couldn't keep to himself - and he gave his partner's hand a soft squeeze.

"Metta?"

The other man turned towards his sweetheart, looking into his twinkling eyelights and giving him a soft smile. "Yes, my darling?"

"Well..." Papyrus thought for a second, before matching that smile with his own. "I think your new song's going to be really cool."

"Oh, yes." A twinkle shone in the lights of those synthetic eyes. "When the movie comes out, I can imagine the fans listening to it for some time... if they don't mind the new style, that is."

Recently, Mettaton had received an offer to write and perform a song for the soundtrack to a movie; while this sort of thing had happened before, this time was special. The movie in question was a more serious documentary, so this song would be far more subdued and introspective than Mettaton's usual combination of dance-floor anthems, hard rockers, and general lighthearted fare. In the years since moving to the surface, Mettaton had slowly become more willing to branch out into styles beyond his synth-driven party tunes; of course, he still made new ones on a regular basis, but he wasn't afraid to slip in an acoustic love ballad or a throwback to whatever random genre caught his eye one day.

In a way, it felt poetic and bittersweet at the same time. Those fans who were teenagers and young adults swooning over him at the time of the monsters' migration to the surface had all grown up somewhat since then, graduating school and getting jobs and even finding love. Mettaton, too, had grown alongside his fans; while he still presented a playful, vain persona on stage, his selfishness and tendency to run away from his problems had lessened over the years. He had managed to make peace with everyone he had wronged in the past - Alphys, Napstablook, Shyren, Frisk, and even Burgerpants (who had since gone back to using his actual first name of Bryan) - and made some new friends along the way.

And he, too, found love, courtesy of one of those friends.

"I'm sure everyone's going to love it, as long as you put your heart into it!" Papyrus' gaze turned in the general direction of Mettaton's soul casing. "Metaphorically speaking, of course. I'm not sure how to literally include souls in music."

"Heh heh..." For a brief moment, Mettaton's smile faltered. "I just hope my fans don't think I'm trying too hard to be something I'm not. Some of them are already trying to say I'm no fun anymore, just because I've been making more songs besides dance-party anthems."

He tried to swallow a rock he felt building up in his throat; while no one had said it to his face yet, he had a suspicion that some listeners may have blamed Papyrus for Mettaton's experimentation. After all, according to critics, being in love often cost a musician their edge, and he knew from reading reviews and forums that music critics rarely had positive things to say about music that didn't have some kind of "bite" to it. Indeed, a couple of critics had even gone after him in the past, believing his music to be nothing more than vapid party tunes with no thought put into their lyrics; he'd learned to stop giving too much consideration towards critics' opinions on his preferred genres.

But if anyone decided it was Papyrus' fault that Mettaton chose to explore new styles, and especially if they tried to publically blame him for Mettaton's music allegedly going bad...

...well, if that happened, they would come face-to-face with the killer robot himself, ready and willing to defend his love's honor until his battery ran out. (And that was if Undyne hadn't gotten to them first and coaxed an apology out of them in her own special way.)

"Well, you won't know if you're good at it unless you try - and you can always practice to get better!" Papyrus lightly nuzzled Mettaton's face. "Even the Great Papyrus wasn't born knowing how to do puzzles - and look at me now!"

As he watched Papyrus do a little heroic pose, Mettaton giggled. Deep down, he knew that Papyrus did have a point; everyone had to start somewhere. Even Mettaton himself only started out with one show before becoming the biggest star in all of monsterkind with many shows, films, and songs to his name - and no matter what any critics may have said about him being pretentious, he still lit up the screens and souls of monsters everywhere.

And in return, their adoration lit up his heart, helping to spur him on to make more works for his fans to enjoy - and the fan currently lying next to him was on a whole different level. With Papyrus, Mettaton felt emotionally full in ways he never knew he could feel before.

Mettaton pulled Papyrus a little closer and gave him a soft kiss on the forehead before gently rubbing his back as he whispered to him.

"You're the most wonderful sweetheart I ever could have hoped for." He gazed into those kind eyelights once more. "Ever since I've known you, I've felt so much better about life. I know I must have told you this so many times at this point... but I still wanted to tell you again, because I can't thank you enough for everything."

"And thank you, Metta." Papyrus gently slipped his fingers into the dark locks of Mettaton's hair. "You've helped me believe in myself, so I always want to make sure you know that I believe in you."

Mettaton smiled and closed his eyes, letting his mind drift towards ways to thank Papyrus for being so sweet and reliable. He'd already written a few love songs for him, so one more couldn't hurt... perhaps with the addition of a slideshow of some of their favorite memories? Maybe, if the two had enough money and free time, Mettaton could travel to some of the places where he'd been on tour - bringing Papyrus with him this time. Restaurants, beaches, galleries, landmarks... they could see them all, and the only problem that came to Mettaton's mind was that he didn't know where to start. If this all worked out, then maybe he and Papyrus could pick out a favorite place and purchase their own vacation home; of course, it would have to be big enough so that all their friends and family members could stay with them. It could be a new yearly tradition for their family, even.

In the middle of fantasizing about watching the sunset with everyone, Mettaton began to notice an unusual - but strangely familiar - sound coming from Papyrus. He opened his eyes and carefully moved to get a better look; Papyrus' eye sockets were closed, and while he had a smile on his face, his bones appeared to be rattling.

At first, Mettaton tilted his head, not sure of what to think. Was Papyrus cold or something? He grabbed another blanket from lower on the bed and pulled it up with the other blankets; however, nothing changed, save for the sound growing a little louder. Mettaton leaned in to listen to the strange rumble...

...and then he realized why this sound was so familiar.

_Is he... purring?_

Mettaton blinked. Was it normal for skeleton monsters to purr in their sleep, or was it just a Papyrus thing? He honestly didn't know; even after he and Papyrus moved in together, Mettaton was by far the heavier sleeper of the two, with his battery-recharging sleep mode rendering him out like a light until he stopped charging. Combined with the fact that Papyrus didn't need to sleep quite as much as most monsters, the odds of Mettaton catching Papyrus asleep were not something on which most people would place bets.

Despite his confusion, he smiled. Even now, he continued to learn new things about his love; maybe, in the future, they could learn new things together.

_Well, beautiful, it's like you say all the time: wowie!_

He carefully lay back down and shuffled a bit closer to Papyrus, draping an arm over him and whispering _good night._ Tomorrow, they would each have work to do, just like today; one would fix cars, the other would compose music, and both would take on their work with greatness and glamour.

But for now, all they needed was the warm bed, the soft lights, and each other.

**Author's Note:**

> To be honest, every week is a good week for Papyton, as far as I'm concerned.


End file.
